Valerien Ismael clear on Sam Johnstone stance & drops West Brom transfer hint

Valerien Ismael expects Sam Johnstone to still be at the club on February 1, despite the recent disagreement which led to the goalkeeper’s absence in the week.

Johnstone, who missed defeats to QPR and Brighton in the FA Cup and the win over Peterborough through suspension, was fully expected to be restored to the Albion starting XI when former club Preston North End visited The Hawthorns on Wednesday.

The England international was nowhere to be seen when the teams were announced, though, and it’s since been described by Ismael as an ‘internal issue’ when pressed for an explanation of Johnstone’s omission.

He’ll miss the game at Millwall, too, and before Albion are back in action the transfer deadline will have passed. Despite being omitted again this weekend, Ismael fully expects to be able to call upon Albion’s number one at Sheffield United on February 9.

“We had a matter before the game. We’ve solved it. Sam was not in the squad against Preston or on Saturday,” Ismael reiterated. “After that he’ll be back on track. We had the matter internally, we’ve solved it.

“The consequence, the sanction, is that he isn’t involved in these two games. I expect him to still be at the club on Monday night.”

Ismael also hinted that other players could yet leave the club by Monday night, with loanee Jordan Hugill expected to be one of those who find new pastures.

“With outgoings anything can happen,” he added. “There is a lot of talk about outgoings behind the scenes,” Ismael added. “We have three days to go so I expect something to happen.”